Charles MacInerney has been collaborating to offer Yoga & Creative Writing retreats since 1995. He is a graduate of the Amherst Writers & Artists Writing Group Leadership training program. Charles will be joined by Jeanne Strong and Blake Walton.

Jeanne Strong is a life-long educator, with a love of learning and wonder.  She has been a ‘closet’ writer for many years, seeking to integrate her love of the written word with self-knowledge.  She looks forward to joining Charles and Blake in Yelapa.

Jeanne brings many years of experience in working with groups of adults who seek, through all forms of written and creative expression, to make meaning in their busy lives.  She currently is a facilitator for the Center for Courage and Renewal www.couragerenewal.org, an organization that supports reconnecting who we are with what we do, bringing together ‘soul’ and ‘role’. She believes that when we reconnect who we are with what we do, we approach our lives and our work with renewed passion, commitment, and integrity. To live in this world takes courage; to live in this world with integrity takes not only courage, but also a willingness to explore the deeper questions of meaning, identity and the role of community.  Through the use of poetry, music, and writing prompts, Jeanne creates trustworthy spaces in which individuals can explore in community the deeper questions of their lives, as well as celebrate their own unique creativity.

While she has lived in many parts of the world, she currently makes Whidbey Island in Washington State her home.  In addition to her work as a consultant with groups of educators and other human service professionals, she enjoys outdoor activities, walks on the beach, yoga, singing, reading, and time with her two adult sons.

Blake Walton has been assisting with the writing response groups at the Mexico retreat for the past 8 years. Blake has a life long love of the written word. Though she considers herself a visual artist first and foremost (visit www.blakewalton.com to see Blake's photographic art work and read her blog), she remains a voracious reader of fiction and poetry and a sporadic but enthusiastic writer. She has written in and assisted with Amherst Artists and Writers-based workshops for some years, including nine years in Yelapa, which she considers heaven on earth. Her favorite saying in regard to most every life situation she encounters is a hearty, "More material for my memoirs!"

In addition to assisting with the writing retreats, Blake will also be offering massage.She is a Licensed Massage Therapist with 18 years of experience in private practice and teaching massage, a Holistic Counselor trained in Psychosynthesis, and a long time Buddhist practitioner.

She will be offering a Mind/Body approach to wellness utilizing a combination of modalities to suit the unique needs of your mind and body:

Charles is registered with the Yoga Alliance at the 500 hour level (the highest registration currently available), and is the co-founder and serves on the faculty of the Living Yoga Teacher Training Program. He is also the co-founder of Texas Yoga, and helps organize and presents at the Annual Texas Yoga Retreat.

Charles is a guest writer for Yoga Journal's "Ask Our Expert" column, and has been intereviewed for articles in Yoga Journal four times (yoga retreats, creativity, heart disease, and Yoga for overweight students). One of Charles' essays (written on retreat with Patricia Lewis) appeared as the lead essay in a National Chess magzine in India. Charles is a contributing author to Yoga Meditations: Timeless Mind-Body Practices for Awakening published in 2005. He was a regular columnist for Silent Messages, and he has numerous essays published in regional publications through out the US, and on the internet.

Charles MacInerney has studied Yoga and Meditation since 1971. He teaches classes on Yoga, Meditation, Posture, Visualization, Breathing, Balance, Creativity, Concentration and biofeedback for a variety of businesses, corporations and institutions. He has worked with over 12,000 students in Austin, where he lives. In 1999 he presented on "Yoga for At-Risk-Youth" for the 2nd Annual S.W. Yoga Conference, and was a panelist, answering questions about hospital based Yoga programs for Cardiac Patients.

The following year Charles presented at the 3rd Annual S.W. Yoga Conference on "Devotion in the Workplace" and was asked to be on the advisory panel to the conference. In 2002 Charles presented two workshops at the International Conference on Yoga for Positive Health, and most recently was a Key-Note speaker at the Yoga4Peace Conference.

Charles has led over 60 retreats since 1992, including 15 international retreats. For more information see his biography.

Charles is also a professional public speaker with the National Speakers Association and has presented numerous times on Mind Mapping; Stress Management; Meditation; Visualization; Breath Work, and Self-Awareness Tools for Self Transformation; at Regional and National Conferences, including the prestigious National Wellness Conference. For more information about Charles MacInerney's speaking career, please visit his website at ExpandingParadigms.com

Charles is usually assisted by at least one guest yoga teacher which allows for more personal attention for participants.

At the February 2000 retreat, Charles was joined by Lois Burton, at left, a courageous and dedicated yoga teacher from London, who teaches Yoga & Meditation to male inmates in some of the oldest, run down prisons in England.

The previous retreat Charles was assisted by Mikki Doyel, photo below right, posing with fellow yoga teacher Valerie Wildman.

The photo below left shows Ellen Smith and Mikki Doyel, who both assisted Charles with the yoga, along with Kundalini Yoga Teacher, Christina Bautista (not shown), at the November 1999 Yoga retreat. Participants love getting to experience different kinds of yoga and different styles of teaching during these retreats.